


Rickety Bones

by sarajessica



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: AU, Child Abuse, Coming Out, Frerard, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2013-06-13
Packaged: 2017-12-14 16:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/838828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarajessica/pseuds/sarajessica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank has a bad knee.<br/>Gerard is making up scenarios.<br/>Frank's truth is harsh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rickety Bones

**Author's Note:**

> This is not really graphic but it DOES contain child abuse when a character comes out to his family. Please be careful if you find this triggering.
> 
>  
> 
> Not real, never happened, not mine except the words.

Gerard watched as the young man made his way over the street. He was stepping gingerly and walking slowly while keeping one eye on the traffic. From where Gerard sat at the coffee shop he couldn't really see that much of the man. He was younger than himself he thought and a bit shorter. When the man reached the sidewalk Gerard could see that he was walking with a slight limp and that he definitely was a few years younger than him. He was more Mikey's age he thought. Taking a sip of his coffee he eyed the man when he opened the door and walked in to the coffee shop.

Gerard watched as the man favoured his right leg and was leaning a bit over on that side when he stepped up to the counter to order. Gerard's imagination was trying to make up a reason for the limp the man had. Maybe he hurt his leg while skateboarding? He kinda looked like a young punk who could do something like that. He was wearing jeans that was ripped at both knees and a t-shirt that looked like it was on inside out. He had colorful tattoos down both arms and yeah, Gerard thought, it could be a skateboard incident causing him to limp. He did look a bit like a daredevil.

But then again, he was quite short and looked young enough to still be in school. Maybe it was bullies? He did stand out a bit from the normal crowd with his look. It might have been someone trying to put him in his place at school, someone who feared anything outside of the norm. Maybe the young man had gotten into a fight? But then again, it didn't look like he had any bruises or cuts except for his bad leg.

Gerard looked over at where the young man was sitting at a table sipping his own coffee and looking out the big windows at the street. Much like Gerard had done when he spotted the man.  
He rethought the school thing again, the man was probably in his early twenties and out of school. Maybe still in college but the bullying usually ended with high school and giving way to other norms and cliques and patterns you had to fit in with.

Maybe the man had been in a car accident and smashed up his knee in it? If he was driving and got a car smashing in to the driver side his left leg would have taken the brunt of the crash wouldn't it? Gerard thought. He sipped some more coffee and hummed to himself. Yeah, a car crash seemed plausible. Some people in Jersey drove like the assholes they were and up in New York nobody really drove if they didn't have to. It might have been one of those sunday drivers not being used to traffic hitting the other mans car and causing him to hurt his leg.  
But then again, the man walked over to the coffee shop, maybe he didn't have a car?

Looking back at the man again he took in the rest of his appearance, yes he looked young and the way his brown hair was curling around his ears didn't help with the age thing. His clothes could've been fit for a 15-year old as well as a 25-year old. The tattoos made him tip over to the twenties at least. It also looked like he had had his ears stretched with gauges before. He had ridicously perfectly arched eyebrows that would be a small miracle if they where that way naturally. Gerard smiled a little to himself at the thought of a young punk tending to his eyebrows. His eyes drifting down to the mans legs he found himself looking at the rip over the mans left knee and his imagination got away with him again.

Maybe he had been subjected to a robbery and some criminal had taken a crowbar to his knee when he stood up for himself? The man did seem to have confidence enough to stand up to a crook even if he was short. Maybe he tried to stop a robbery happening to someone else and got his knee busted when he was in a fit of doing something well-meant? He looked like he could have a good sense of justice if you disregarded his somewhat tough appearance. He didn't look like a man that went looking for trouble but he didn't look like one that cowed away when his help was needed either. But Gerard thought, that theory was probably the most farfetched so far...

Nibbling a bit on his lower lip and scanning his mind for more alternatives to the young mans limp he thought he found another plausible cause. Maybe the man had been sickly as a child and that his somewhat short stature and the bad leg was related? He couldn't think of any diseases right away that could give you a limp except polio and wasn't that eradicated? At least in the states?  
He looked down at his coffee frowning a bit about whether polio was justified in this case.

When he looked up again the man was standing up from his table and was looking around the coffee shop.

"Hi Frank," he said when the young man finally noticed him and had walked over to Gerard's table.  
"Hi Gee," he answered, "didn't see you when I came in, have you been sitting here all the time?"  
"Yeah, I've been lost in thoughts, didn't think to bother you before you saw me by yourself," Gerard said with a smile. Frank sat down in the chair across from Gerard and gave an answering smile back. "You know, you could never bother me," he said, then, "What where you thinking about?"  
Gerard thought about it and then made the decision to be truthful. "You know, you never told me what happened to you to make you limp? I was just thinking about what could've happened to you."

  
"Oh," Frank said in a small voice. "I didn't...I mean...I haven't told anyone about it really..." Gerard frowned at this, why wouldn't Frank tell people about why he had a bad leg? He knew that the younger man wasn't ashamed about his limp, just handled himself as one normally would even with his bad knee.  
Gerard looked down at his now empty coffee cup thinking about the way Frank had tensed up at the question. He made a decision then and looked back up at Frank with as much earnestness he could muster. "You know, I'm done here anyway, do you want to come back to my place for som free coffee and if you'd decide to tell me about your leg I'll listen but I don't want to pressure you into it or anything." Frank finally met Gerards eyes with a bit of apprehension in them and that was something he wasn't used to at all from Frank.

  
Frank nodded after awhile and got up from the table. Gerard let out a breath he didn't even had noticed he was holding in.  
The walk over to Gerard's apartment was a short one and they spent it mostly in silence. It wasn't totally uncomfortable but more something akin to the weather before a thunderstorm broke out. There just was something in the air.

  
When they got to Gerard's place they settled in the kitchen and Gerard fiddled a bit with the coffee maker before he sat down on the short end of the table next to Frank. The silence kept on stretching and the coffee maker soon puttered to a stop and Gerard filled up two cups before he sat down again.  
Frank took an audible gulp of air before he looked up from the table and his cup. He didn't quite meet Gerard's eyes and it looked more like he was looking a bit to the left of Gerard's face.  
He started to speak and then stopped again and took another breath. "It's not..." he said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you...I just haven't told anyone before. But I guess...yeah, I want to tell you."

  
Frank was looking down at the table again and Gerard couldn't resist putting his hand over Frank's where it was resting on the table.  
"I told you I would listen, just take it in your own pace Frank, I'm not going anywhere," Gerard encouraged him and squeezed his hand a little.  
Frank kept his eyes trained on the table when he started to speak again. "You know my parents are divorced, yeah, and that I never see my dad anymore. It's just been me and my mom for years now."

  
Gerard did not like where this was going at all. He knew something was up by the way Frank handled himself but this might be worse than he even could've imagined.  
He took a deep breath and squeezed Frank's hand again. Frank looked up quickly and then down at the table again. "My mom left my dad when I was 16," Frank continued, "She...she had a reason to. I came out to my parents when I was 16, my dad did not take it in a good way." Frank gave a small shudder and Gerard held on to his hand tightly. "My dad, he...I mean, my mom has always been supportive of me. But my dad...he didn't want a fag for a son. He kicked me out. He actually kicked me down the front stairs and I twisted my knee badly enough that my mom had to call the ambulance for me. It was ok though, it was better to feel the pain in my leg than hearing the things dad was yelling at me. When I got back from the hospital the next day with a brace on my leg my dad was gone. My mom had thrown him and his stuff out while I was away. We haven't really talked about it after that day...she... she couldn't live with him anymore and she didn't want to put me at risk. That's why my dad is gone. He hurt me once and my mom wouldn't let that happen again. Unfortunately my leg is always a reminder of how much he didn't accept me the way I was...the way I am."

  
Gerard had been quiet all through Frank's explanation and he could feel that his eyes was a bit wet, he couldn't even believe that Frank's dad had been such an asshole. He always had both his parents genuine support but he was glad that Frank had his mom and that she obviously was even more kick-ass awesome than he thought before. Frank deserved it.

  
Frank was taking slow deep breaths and Gerard held on to his hand with a newfound fervor thinking that he never wanted to let go. This was not really a new feeling but it had simmered under the surface for so long, not quite acknowledged but now it bubbled up making Gerard want to protect, to care for, to hold on to Frank for all that he was worth.

  
"Frank, Frankie," Gerard said quitely, "I'm really glad that you told me...that you trusted me." Frank finally looked up at Gerard and he looked a little bit less in turmoil than before. "Gee," he almost whispered. "I wanted to tell you. I needed to tell you. I kinda want to tell you everything..."  
Gerard didn't think he was imagining the things Frank was saying or the way Frank was looking at him. He brought Frank's hand up to his mouth and turned it around and pressed a small kiss to his palm. Frank's eyes widened but he didn't look panicked. More anticipatory.

"I want you tell me everything," Gerard answered with a small smile.


End file.
